Local Drivers of Antarctic Spring Sea Ice Retreat

Abstract Antarctic sea ice has changed significantly over the past four decades; yet limited understanding of fundamental processes, including its seasonal cycle, hinders our ability to interpret these changes. Here, we examine the processes determining the moment when sea ice locally disappears each spring, defined as the retreat date, using satellite observations over 1994–2020. We find that climatological retreat date is driven by sea ice melt in most of the seasonal ice zone and strongly constrained by the seasonal maximum ice thickness. Ice removal due to drifting ice export predominantly drives retreat only in coastal polynyas. At interannual timescales, retreat date anomalies are also preconditioned by prior maximum ice thickness, which affects melt‐driven spring ice loss through the ice‐albedo feedback, though this effect appears limited to specific regions. Winds emerge as a primary driver of interannual variability in the retreat date, influencing both drift‐ and melt‐related spring ice removal processes.

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Publication Details

Journal
Geophysical Research Letters
Published
2025-05-14
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1029/2025gl114764
Citations
2
Primary Topic
Cryospheric studies and observations
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
2.60
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article

Local Drivers of Antarctic Spring Sea Ice Retreat

Sara Fleury, Martin Vancoppenolle, Kenza Himmich, Gurvan Madec et al.
2 citations
Geophysical Research Letters
Cryospheric studies and observations
2.60
article

Local Drivers of Antarctic Spring Sea Ice Retreat

Sara Fleury, Martin Vancoppenolle, Kenza Himmich, Gurvan Madec, Marion Bocquet, Sharon Stammerjohn
article en
2 citations

Abstract

Abstract Antarctic sea ice has changed significantly over the past four decades; yet limited understanding of fundamental processes, including its seasonal cycle, hinders our ability to interpret these changes. Here, we examine the processes determining the moment when sea ice locally disappears each spring, defined as the retreat date, using satellite observations over 1994–2020. We find that climatological retreat date is driven by sea ice melt in most of the seasonal ice zone and strongly constrained by the seasonal maximum ice thickness. Ice removal due to drifting ice export predominantly drives retreat only in coastal polynyas. At interannual timescales, retreat date anomalies are also preconditioned by prior maximum ice thickness, which affects melt‐driven spring ice loss through the ice‐albedo feedback, though this effect appears limited to specific regions. Winds emerge as a primary driver of interannual variability in the retreat date, influencing both drift‐ and melt‐related spring ice removal processes.

Geophysical Research LettersVol. 52(10)
Institut polytechnique de Grenoble (FR), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR), Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (FR), Université Fédérale de Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées (FR), Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (US), University of Colorado Boulder (US), Sorbonne Université (FR), Centre Inria de l'Université Grenoble Alpes (FR), NORCE Research AS (NO), Laboratoire Jean Kuntzmann (FR), Laboratoire d'Océanographie et du Climat : Expérimentations et Approches Numériques (FR), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (FR), Université Grenoble Alpes (FR)
Life below water
Openalex Percentile: Top 12%
Cryospheric studies and observations
2.60
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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